Vietnam swine flu cases swell to 97
According to the Department of Animal Health, there have already been bird flu outbreaks in Yen Hung District, Quang Ninh Province, which have left 403...

Mutant swine flu virus weathers medication
The latest H1N1 statistics reveal that the contagion's death toll has outnumbered fatalities caused by the avian flu in recent years.

Swine flu deaths top bird flu toll
The latest figures from the World Health Organisation show there have been 311 confirmed deaths around the world from the H1N1 swine flu...

Swine Flu hits Kenya
The 20- year-old British medical student currently in Kisumu has been confirmed to have contracted the dreaded Swine Flu. He becomes the first case in the...

Mexican swine flu victims were young, some healthy
Swine flu patients in Mexico were young and many were healthy before developing...

England has first swine flu death
A young girl has become the third person to die in the UK after catching swine flu, as the total of confirmed cases in the country passed 6000.

Health Experts Say US Is Prepared for Swine Flu Pandemic
Plans developed for the avian flu, or H5N1, in the middle of this decade should help combat any mass swine flu outbreak, Fauci said.

Younger people 'should get swine flu vaccine first'
Young adults who got swine flu in Mexico were more likely to get serious complications or die than older people who may have a natural immunity,...

4th swine flu death reported on eastern Long Island
Long Island's Suffolk County has recorded a fourth death linked to swine flu. County health officials said Tuesday the victim,...

Swine flu total jumps sharply by 64 cases
New Zealand's official count of swine flu cases jumped sharply again yesterday - the same day as the world's first case was reported of...

Swine Flu: The Pathology of Pandemics
Unlike SARS, avian flu or ebola, swine flu has gone truly global. Confronted by the 21st century's first pandemic, how scared should we be?

Within a month, I had the blood work, biopsy and it was confirmed that I had indeed contracted and had active Hepatitis C disease. My options, outcomes and course of illness was all explained. I certainly wanted to begin treatment as soon as possible. My Nurse Practitioner set me up and began teaching me all I could need to know. She was wonderful, I can't begin to tell you how well she handled my case.

The hardest part was arranging for the payment of the peginterferon-alpha and Ribavirin I would be taking for 11 months. Because I could not identify the exact exposure, I could not even revert to worker's comp. I knew that if I didn't get help, that I could not live much longer in this condition. The medication was so new to this area that even my pharmacist had difficulty understanding the way that the medication was distributed at that time. I understand that you no longer have to "get into the program" to assure that your medication will be available to you for your entire treatment. I worked out a payment plan.

I discussed my diagnosis with my family and friends. They were so supportive, I know that not everyone has this kind of support. Believe me, it is a vital part of the therapy and recovery. I told my employer about my diagnosis and chemotherapy and assured them that I had intension of beating this disease and would be continuing to work. My job did not require a lot of physical labor, thank God, and therefore, I was able to work throughout my entire treatment.

I followed her protocol to the "T". Drank all the water required; I could always tell when I was not because I felt even worse. Took my medications exactly as ordered. Got plenty of rest and never touched even a sip of Champaign on New Year's Eve. I discussed with my Practitioner vitamins I could take that were not filtered through the liver (not fat soluble). I started a diet that would help with my anemia and nausea. Follow-up with every appointment and blood work required. Every Friday night I would self administer the Peg and rest so that I could begin work again on Monday. Believe me, 11 months was tough, I had wonderful support group; my husband had cancer 10 years earlier and understood my lack of energy and emotional highs and lows attached to the therapy. He and my children were wonderful and couldn't have been more supportive. My Practitioner knew exactly when to adjust medication to correct overly adverse medication reactions. I took each day at a time. Never thinking about the date this would all end. I focused on beating the disease. I was like a newborn in that I had lost a lot of hair (everywhere). My skin would not heal anymore, so any little nick or scratch remained open and band-aids were my jewelry. I was fortunate that I never developed an infection of any kind during that time. I was so anemic and tired all the time. As in some cases, I did not have to start Procrit. When I went to see my Practitioner in my 10th month (I was pretty tired of feeling bad) she told me that I had only 3 more shots left. I was overjoyed. By this time my appetite had improved, I wasn't nauseated anymore, and there wasn't that awful abdominal pain. I just wanted to celebrate the nearing end. 

I am now one year post therapy. I remain negative for the virus. I gained back every pound, and you won't find me ever complaining about my weight again. It took about 6 months after my therapy ended to rid my system all the toxic effects of the medications. I can't begin to tell you how worth it was to me to take the treatment. I recommend a clinic that is knowledgeable of the disease and a nurse practitioner on your side. My heart goes out to those people who have had the treatment and continue to have high counts. They are the one who need lots and lots of support.

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